US opposes UN Golan resolution

The United States was to oppose yesterday for the first time an annual resolution at the UN calling on Israel to rescind its authority in the occupied Golan Heights, drawing praise from Israeli officials.

Israel seized and occupied 1,200 square km of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 War. It annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognised internationally.

The US has abstained in previous years on the annual “Occupied Syrian Golan” resolution, which declares Israel’s decision to impose its jurisdiction in the area “null and void”, but Washington’s UN envoy Nikki Haley said it would vote against the resolution.